The Austrian Space Agency, officially known since 2005 as the Aeronautics and Space Agency (German: Agentur für Luft- und Raumfahrt), is an

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

whose purpose is to coordinate Austrian

space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...

-related activities. It has been involved in both national programmes and multinational efforts coordinated via the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

(ESA). The Austrian Space Agency was established in 1972, its headquarters is located in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. On 1 January 1987, Austria became a member state of the ESA. The agency is notable for coordinating the first space flight of an Austrian, that of

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Franz Viehböck Franz Artur Viehböck (born 24 August 1960 in Vienna) is an Austrian electrical engineering, electrical engineer and cosmonaut, who became the first Austrian to fly in space. He visited the Mir space station in 1991 aboard Soyuz TM-13, returning ...

with a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Soyuz spacecraft Soyuz () is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...

, during 1990.

History

Background

Prior to the formation of the Austrian Space Agency, Austria had been actively involved in space activities. During the late 1950s and 1960s, the nation opted to increasingly involve itself in numerous international space-orientated committees, typically via the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Austrian delegates coordinated with international counterparts to formulate numerous early treaties and establish laws related to the use of space. The Austrian government also developed an interest in promoting space-based activities, particularly its domestic efforts. During early 1961, the nation was involved in talks towards founding the

European Space Research Organisation The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a ...

(ESRO); upon its founding three years later, Austria opted for observer status. This was reportedly due to a lack of an agreement on the nation's financial contributions. The Austrian government did not involve itself in the

European Launcher Development Organisation file:Europa2vrp.jpg, 250px, Europa II file:Europa2rp.jpg, 200px, Rolls-Royce ''RZ-12'' file:Coralie rocket stage top view.jpg, 200px, ''Coralie'' file:Europa Upper Stage University of Stuttgart 02.jpg, 200px, ''Astris'' The European Launcher ...

(ELDO) initiative; this is primarily due to it being a violation of the

Austrian State Treaty The Austrian State Treaty ( ) or Austrian Independence Treaty established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the Uni ...

. While the nation was not a full member of the ESRO, several figures within Austria were keen to pursue a more active role in space activities. In May 1962, the Austrian Astronautical Society was established to launch scale model rockets with a vision towards future programmes. Between 1967 and 1972, the society represented Austria at the

International Astronautical Federation The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris, and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay t ...

, ceasing in this role following its replacement by the Austrian Space Agency. The formation of the Austrian Space Agency had been first proposed in 1962. In May 1968, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs established a committee to investigate the possibility. Following the establishment of the Federal Ministry for Science and Research in 1970, a task force to realise the envisioned agency was put together. During 1972, the Austrian Space Agency was established.

Active years

The Austrian Space Agency's stated long-term goal has been to strengthen the international standing of Austrian industry, business and science in space-based technologies to achieve economic and technological development, as well as to look after the growth of the Austrian aerospace sector. One function of the agency is the implementation of national aerospace policy, as well as to represent Austria on various international aerospace committees. During 1975, Austria began actively participating in the

(ESA), the successor to the ESRO. During 1981, Austria was recognised as an associate member of the ESA. On 1 January 1987, the country formally became a full member of the ESA. Austria's involvement with the ESA activities extended beyond mandatory activities, such as space science, technology, and study programmes, into various optional programmes, including

Earth observation Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biosphere, biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote sensing, remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or throu ...

and

microgravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Weight is a measurement of the fo ...

research,

space infrastructure Human presence in space (also anthropogenic presence in space or humanity in space) is the direct and mediated presence or telepresence of humans in outer space, and in an extended sense across space including astronomical body, astronomical ...

and scientific experiment development, along with space navigation and telecommunications projects. Austria has pursued bilateral cooperative projects with various international partners. During 1989, Austria came to an agreement with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

for a common Austrian-Soviet spaceflight; this led to

becoming the first Austrian citizen to experience space flight, having conducted a mission on board a

to the

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

space station A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...

during the following year. Other Austrian-Soviet cooperative efforts resulted in Austria developing numerous scientific instruments for probes, leading to its involvement in a range of missions. Other nations that Austria has conducted bilateral projects with include Norway,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, France, Switzerland, and Germany.

References

External links

Website

Austria in Space
{{Public sector space agencies Government of Austria Scientific organisations based in Austria Space agencies 1972 establishments in Austria Space program of Austria

History

Background

Active years

See also

References

External links